In the food industry, corresponding steps are attached to the production apparatuses and machines or integrated into the production machines for monitoring and control purposes. The machine and the step must be coordinated such that the respectively applicable safety and ergonomic provisions are complied with. The step is part of the safety concept of the machine and firmly connected to the latter.
The step is often designed such that it can be transferred from a compact rest position (e. g. a folded-in state) to a projecting working position (folded-out state), e. g. by manually folding out the step. The step is here designed to be coupled in accordance with the safety concept. This means that the machine is unlocked when the step is folded up, while the machine is locked in a folded down step position. After the step has been folded up, this must be first confirmed at the input unit so that the machine can then be operated again without restrictions.
Loose steps, i.e. steps that are freely movable in the production plant, e. g. in the form of platforms, ladders, steps, etc., are not accepted for safety reasons. This is because these movable steps can be easily brought, e. g. by the operators, to the immediate proximity of sources of danger without using tools. Since these steps are not coupled to the machine's safety concept, the machine will still be running even when someone steps on the movable step, even if it has been brought perilously close to a danger point. Thus, the compliance with the required safety dimensions (distance to the source of danger) cannot be reliably ensured. This represents a high potential for danger, e. g. for the operator or the cleaning staff.
By a coupled step being part of the machine's safety concept and the machine only being operative when the step is folded up, the step must be more or less often manually transferred to the various positions every day, depending on the application. Since the operators are often carrying heavy loads and thus their hands are not free, it is particularly disadvantageous to have to operate the step manually.